Attorneys Representing Dog Attack Victims Across Texas

This website is maintained by the Law Offices of Dean Malone, P.C., a Dallas, Texas law firm representing people across Texas for dog bite injury cases. We have attempted to provide useful information for those harmed by animal attacks.

Wednesday, June 7th, 2017

A fatal pit bull attack occurred in Virginia Beach, Virginia, the night of May 31, 2017. The family had adopted the dog just hours before the horrific incident. Police officers were contacted about the dog attack at about 7:30 p.m. Upon arrival, they discovered that the victim was suffering from life-threatening injuries. She was quickly transported to a nearby hospital, where she underwent several surgeries. One of her arms had to be amputated. Sadly, she did not survive the surgeries; she died the following day.

The victim’s daughter said she was in the backyard with the newly adopted pit bull, and she removed the shock and canvas collars. She then realized she had been locked out of the house. When she called her mother, she had fallen and said she couldn’t get up. The daughter broke a window pane with a hammer to get into the home. She says the dog ran past her and began mauling her mother on her arms and then her abdomen and thighs. The daughter tried hitting the dog with the hammer and with a skillet, but the dog was not deterred from attacking. She later said the attack didn’t stop until the elderly woman in her 90s stopped screaming. At one point, the daughter was bitten on the arm.

The dog had previously been in a shelter and identified as a biter. He was rescued and ended up with this family. The new owner said that she had never seen anything like the gruesome attack.

This tragic incident is like so many others, when people are convinced that pit bulls can be perfectly safe for adoption only for disasters like this one to occur.

Wednesday, July 6th, 2016

Tamika Batts was walking in south Dallas on Longridge Drive on Thursday, June 30, when she encountered two loose pit bulls. The dogs lunged at her and began biting her all over her body. Thirty-nine-year-old Batts said it felt like the dogs were fighting dogs and they set out to kill her. Neighbors heard her screams for help. By the time she was rescued, she had already suffered at least 40 bites on her body, from head to toe. She is currently in a wheelchair, having been released from the hospital. Batts expressed her thankfulness that it didn’t happen to any of her children.

On May 9, the month before the attack on Batts, 52-year-old Antoinette Brown died as a result of a May 2 dog attack in the same region of Dallas. A pack of dogs bit Brown more than 100 times – the physicians actually stopped counting after 100.

Authorities expressed their devotion to cracking down on dangerous loose dogs after Brown’s death. With Batts’ attack, the need for better animal control is even more apparent. As Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Erik Wilson pointed out, the issue isn’t all about stray dogs. Pet owners need to be more responsible. Wilson said owners should be sure their dogs can’t get off-property. Keep them on a leash. Don’t tether dogs. Also, make sure they are spayed or neutered.

Two dogs believed to be the pit bulls responsible for attacking Batts have been picked up by animal control officers. One of the dog owners has been issued two citations in connection with this attack.

Many of the people in the neighborhood are now careful to bring a bat or stick with them on walks, fearful of becoming the next victim of a dog attack in Dallas.

Friday, February 12th, 2016

LukeI (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Research has been done on dog attacks and dog bites, and information has been used to determine what the most dangerous dogs are in the U.S. As with just about any report with figures, there are many different variables that determine which dogs rank at the top of the danger list. There is one breed that always makes lists of dangerous dogs because they cause the most harm, including the most fatalities, and that breed is the pit bull.

Tragically, as this series ends, there has been another fatal pit bull attack. In Hertford, North Carolina, on Wednesday, 36-year-old Suzanne Story was mauled to death by a pit bull she made arrangements on Craigslist to adopt. She had been the pit bull’s new owner for less than two weeks when the horrific pit bull attack occurred. According to police, Suzanne’s sister heard her yelling for help, and she was in the next room. She made a 9-1-1 call and waited for emergency medical services, animal control, and the police to arrive. Once animal control and police officers got there, it took three of them to stop the attack and get control of the pit bull and get him out of the house before Suzanne could get medical attention. A medical helicopter was flown in, but the victim was pronounced dead as the helicopter landed. The dog was given to Suzanne at no cost by a family from Virginia. Obviously, no one involved believed that anyone’s life was in danger, in spite of the growing body of clear evidence that pit bulls are dangerous and in a category completely separate from other breeds. They should be handled with as much caution as wild tigers, rather than being treated like a typical pet. How many people have to be mauled, maimed, or killed before that reality takes hold?

Friday, February 12th, 2016

Brindle pit bull (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Thirty-six-year-old Suzanne Story of North Carolina died on Wednesday after the pit bull she had adopted days before viciously and relentlessly mauled her in her home. According to Story’s family, she had adopted the dog free of charge after finding out about him in an advertisement on Craigslist. A Virginia family said the dog was good with children and was well-behaved. Neighbors noted, however, that Story had struggled to get control over the large pit bull when walking him in the neighborhood. Some feared for their children, if the pit bull were to break free from the owner or escape the yard.

When the incident happened, Story’s sister was in the next room. She heard Story screaming and was injured in her effort to stop the attack. The sister called 9-1-1. When police officers and animal control officers arrived, it took three of them to get the dog to stop attacking Story and to place the dog outside. Story’s injuries were obviously critical, and a medical helicopter was quickly summoned. She was pronounced dead, however, just as the helicopter got there.

Among those Story leaves behind are two daughters, ages 15 and 17.

According to law enforcement officials in the area, the pit bull was supposed to have been euthanized yesterday.

As of February 10, 2016, four people have died from pit bull attacks in the U.S. this year. Last year, a record 33 people were victims of fatal pit bull attacks. The increase in fatal dog attacks has had an alarming 633% increase since the last study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 1988, after which the CDC stopped tracking information about dog attacks.

Thursday, February 11th, 2016

Research has been done on dog attacks and dog bites, and information has been used to determine what the most dangerous dogs are in the U.S. As with just about any report with figures, there are many different variables that determine which dogs rank at the top of the danger list. There is one breed that always makes lists of dangerous dogs because they cause the most harm, including the most fatalities, and that breed is the pit bull.

In the D.C. area, at least one neighborhood has recently been plagued by a rash of dog attacks, including pit bull attacks. On January 31, 2016, Ross Yerger was walking with his Italian Mastiff less than a block from his home in Northwest D.C. when another dog walker’s pit bull got free and charged at the pair. The pit bull relentlessly attacked the Mastiff, and the owner couldn’t stop the attack by beating and punching the attacking dog. He finally jammed his hand down the pit bull’s mouth, in a failed attempt to stop the attack. A witness described the terrifying incident, saying it was a very bloody scene. Another neighbor stopped the attack by pummeling the dog with a shovel and prying the dog off with it. Both the Mastiff and Yerger are still recovering from their wounds. Yerger had to miss two weeks of work during his recovery. City officials are getting pressure from some citizens to do something about the dogs running loose in D.C. neighborhoods, a problem they say includes pets as well as strays.

Wednesday, February 10th, 2016

Per1 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Research has been done on dog attacks and dog bites, and information has been used to determine what the most dangerous dogs are in the U.S. As with just about any report with figures, there are many different variables that determine which dogs rank at the top of the danger list. There is one breed that always makes lists of dangerous dogs because they cause the most harm, including the most fatalities, and that breed is the pit bull.

On Tuesday, January 26, in Mobile, Alabama, a 13-year-old boy was badly injured in an unprovoked pit bull attack. Hunter Sharman was exiting through the front door of his home when a neighbor’s pit bull immediately lunged at him, bit him, and dragged him into the yard. Hunter’s mother was in the backyard and heard her child’s screams. She rushed to help him, but the dog was relentlessly attacking Hunter. When she saw the dog trying to bite Hunter’s neck, she grabbed a nearby board and began hitting the pit bull with it. The mom said the dog was ripping at Hunter’s legs and biting his arms. After the attack finally stopped, the boy was transported to a hospital, where he remained hospitalized for several days. No bones were broken but his arms and legs were badly injured from multiple bites. Walking is difficult for him, and he has had to use a cane. Before the attack occurred, there was already plenty of evidence that the dog was a danger and that the owner was allowing his pit bulls to run loose in the streets.

Wednesday, February 10th, 2016

Research has been done on dog attacks and dog bites, and information has been used to determine what the most dangerous dogs are in the U.S. As with just about any report with figures, there are many different variables that determine which dogs rank at the top of the danger list. There is one breed that always makes lists of dangerous dogs because they cause the most harm, including the most fatalities, and that breed is the pit bull.

On Monday, February 1, in Wilmer, Alabama, a 6-year-old boy was savagely attacked by a pit bull and is still fighting for his life. The child has already undergone two surgeries and many more are ahead. Doctors have doubts whether the boy will ever be able to speak again, if he pulls through. The horrific attack took place outside a house where numerous dogs were chained up. Andrew Bulger, age 6, was playing in the yard with a friend when a one-year-old pit bull broke off the chain and charged directly at Andrew. One witness said it happened so quickly, the dog was on the boy like a shot from a gun. The dog first tried biting Andrew in the face and then knocked him down. The pit bull bit the 6-year-old in the neck and then lifted and shook him by the neck. The child’s dad was able to quickly get the dog off of his son. Containing the blood from the boy’s neck until the ambulance could arrive was impossible. If this incident were isolated, it would not be appropriate to target the pit bull breed as too dangerous for society. But it is far from isolated. Another boy was very recently attacked by a pit bull in the same region where this incident took place.

Tuesday, February 9th, 2016

3.5 year old Brindle Pit Bull Terrier (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Research has been done on dog attacks and dog bites, and information has been used to determine what the most dangerous dogs are in the U.S. As with just about any report with figures, there are many different variables that determine which dogs rank at the top of the danger list. There is one breed that always makes lists of dangerous dogs because they cause the most harm, including the most fatalities, and that breed is the pit bull.

On February 7, 2016, a toddler became another of the latest victims of a pit bull attack. When the horrific attack occurred, the 3-year-old was walking dogs for a neighbor with a friend and her older sister in a Niceville, Florida, neighborhood, which is in Pensacola. Two of the dogs being walked were pit bulls. Just before the dogs were returned to their owner, the pit bulls started fighting each other. Reportedly, the 3-year-old walked near the fighting dogs and became the target of their attack. Witnesses heard and saw the older girls screaming and trying to save the child from the attack. Neighbors helped rescue the girl but not before she was bitten and scratched on her entire body, from the head down. The child is still in a hospital in Pensacola, recovering. Learn what type of damage pit bull attacks can do in the next segment.

Monday, February 8th, 2016

Poncho, a 1.5 year old brindle Pit bull mix playing, showing teeth, looking crazy. Poncho, who was hit by a car last year, was a friendly and gentle dog with people, other dogs, and cats. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Research has been done on dog attacks and dog bites, and information has been used to determine what the most dangerous dogs are in the U.S. As with just about any report with figures, there are many different variables that determine which dogs rank at the top of the danger list. There is one breed that always makes lists of dangerous dogs because they cause the most harm, including the most fatalities, and that breed is the pit bull.

The owner of the pit bull that escaped its yard and relentlessly attacked 10-year-old Joel Guerrero in his own backyard told news sources that his dog is not dangerous and that this was the first time it ever attacked anyone. The owner has not been cited by police or animal control services. The victim’s mother said she’s worried that somebody else could be harmed because there is no protection being provided. She is unlike many pit bull advocates, who frequently put advocating for pit bulls ahead of the safety of their own family members. Guerrero’s mother said she is first a mother and her son’s health is her first priority.

When WebMD published an article that was soft on pit bulls, it included a segment called “Considering a Pit Bull?” Owners are urged to socialize their pit bulls, monitor their playtime, keep them on leashes if they are unfriendly with other dogs, and slowly introduce them to animals such as cats and bunnies. Spaying and neutering is also recommended, and that actually does help to reduce dominance aggression among males. But if a pit bull owner is not going to be held accountable for his dog going into a child’s backyard and attacking brutally, what can these types of measures accomplish?

Monday, February 8th, 2016

Titanpit (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Research has been done on dog attacks and dog bites, and information has been used to determine what the most dangerous dogs are in the U.S. As with just about any report with figures, there are many different variables that determine which dogs rank at the top of the danger list. There is one breed that always makes lists of dangerous dogs because they cause the most harm, including the most fatalities, and that breed is the pit bull.

WebMD has recommendations for owners of pit bulls, to be posted in the next segment, but the measures would do nothing to protect the public in many cases. Last month, for example, in Fort Worth, Texas, 10-year-old Joel Guerrero was in his own backyard when a neighbor’s pit bull broke through the fence line and brutally attacked him. The pit bull bit Joel’s knee; and when he tried to run, he was bitten in the back and on one arm. When he was finally freed from the vicious pit bull attack, he was transported to Cook Children’s Medical Center, where he was hospitalized for eight days. He underwent knee surgery and has a long road of rehabilitation ahead of him. A GoFundMe account has been set up, to help with the expensive and ongoing medical costs because it appears the dog’s owner may not be required to share in any of the medical expenses. Learn what the pet bull’s owner allegedly had to say and what the mother is quoted as saying about pit bulls in the next segment.